


Freeze the Stars

by FlyingShibaInu



Category: Touhou Project
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, ChiruFura, Dialogue Heavy, Fairies, Friendship, Gen, Headcanon, Nuclear Furnace, Palace of the Earth Spirit, Touhou Chireiden: Subterranean Animism, Underworld, Vampires, just cirno and flandre solving th11 together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-09
Updated: 2018-12-05
Packaged: 2020-01-07 07:45:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 15,853
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18406223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlyingShibaInu/pseuds/FlyingShibaInu
Summary: An ice fairy and a fire vampire went down the hole to Underworld. They might be solving the incident as well as themselves.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> ChiruFura needs some love. The best way to bond? Go solve an incident together.

The frog died. She had failed again.

Cirno sighed. She was getting better, but nowhere near enough. Frogs died less but they still died. Freezing frogs had always been so much fun for her, and then she tried to master the act of defreezing them too. She kept failing at it.

Freezing frogs was no fun. She'd rather dive.

The ice fairy flew up high in the sky and dropped down with gravity. The water splashed when she collided with the water. The mist thickened and froze the whole lake and all droplets of water in the area. Smaller ice pellets reminded her of snow in the upcoming winter. Snow would drift down from the sky. It gave her energy. It gave her life. It made her stronger than strongest and she would be really strong.

Misty Lake was her throne. Cirno loved every part of it. She flew up into the air and dropped down, hoping to feel the joy of submerging into the water again.

Suddenly, the ground shook.

The earthquake shouldn't have affected her who was not on land, but it did anyway. Cirno lost her balance and spun as she fell headfirst into the lake. She coughed as she climbed up the shore. "Pttf, bleh."

"Cirno!" Daiyousei ran up to her and patted her back. "You okay? Did you do that?"

"Uhh..." Cirno stared blankly. "I froze the lake, yeah."

"I mean the earthquake..."

"Then no," Cirno said and coughed a bit more. She stood up, determined to find and freeze the culprit that ruined her day.

It rumbled again, and both of the fairies fell into the lake.

* * *

 

At the Hakurei Shrine, the ground shook, followed by an uneasy feeling of upcoming danger. Four people were in the shrine. Three were human and one was a magician. None of them could do anything about it.

"The earthquake just won't stop… It is getting colder..." Marisa groaned. "And Reimu's sick at a time like this!"

In the futon was Reimu, breathing so shallow that people from afar would think she was dead. All youkai have their own time. Some are strong during winter. Some during summer. Some every ten years and so on, and it seems it was the same with humans. For whatever reasons Reimu was weak today, extremely weak.

Marisa leaned forward and touched the maiden's head. "... Hot like hell." She sighed. Reimu was weak, but it was not because of the weather. It was nature. Who would stop the incident now?

"So, you don't know who to ask for help," Sakuya said. "Now I understand why you call us here this early in the morning, but I want to say that I cannot help you."

Patchouli raised her eyebrows.

"What?" Marisa's eyebrows furrowed. "But why?"

"We are dealing with fire or something underground that have enough power to shake the earth. My ability is not suited for this type of situation," Sakuya said. "Well, if you want me to stop the incident, I can. Forever. But I bet you wouldn't like that."

"... Now that I think about it..." Marisa said. "You can't knife fire. Yeah."

Patchouli stood up. "If both of you aren't going to go, I have no reason to stay-"

The shrine door opened.

The first thing they saw was a small hand with red claws clenching the door edge. Colorful lights reflected on the shrine's walls as the black stick wings spread. A blonde haired girl in her red dress stood at the entrance.

"... Flandre," Marisa said.

"You...!" Sakuya stood up. Flandre shouldn't be here. She must have escaped using the darkness of dawn. The vampire should be brought back, but Sakuya halted as she saw Flandre's face.

Flandre was crying.

* * *

 

 "... aaa! Ouch." Cirno shook her head. The ground was dry and sandy. Why were they on land? Pretty sure they were in the water. Cold wind touched her skin and reminded her that she was indeed soaked with water.

"Errr, Cirno...?" Daiyousei poked Cirno's arm and snuggled up close. Her shaky voice made it clear that she was as confused as Cirno was.

"Yes?" Cirno patted her friend on the back and looked at where her friend pointed. Her jaw dropped.

In front of them was a big hole. The air from it felt hot. The constant wind made the whoosh sound and it kept ringing in their ears. From the sound alone, Cirno could imagine that the hole was very deep, and wide, and big.

"Wow," Cirno finally said.

Her friend was too scared to check the hole, so Cirno walked forward. She moved in closer to the hole.

Then she saw two red eyes.

"Boo!"

"Aaahhhhhh!" Cirno crawled backward.

Cirno took a deep breath and looked. In front of her was a girl, a blonde haired girl with striking red eyes. The girl was standing at the edge of the hole where Cirno once was. She grinned, showing her fangs.

"So you're my partner!" She leaned forward and looked down at her. "Hello, I'm Flandre."

"Eh?"

"Flandre."

Cirno stared at her.

"Flandre," she repeated. "My name."

"Oh."

Sakuya, who appeared out of nowhere, shook her head. "Ice fairy, the shrine maiden is in no condition to solve the incident right now, and you are the right person to do the job. You are strong during this time of year, and your ability fits this mission the most. With Flandre as your partner, please resolve this incident."

"In short, Cirno, Gensokyo might go boom," Marisa said. She dropped down from her broomstick. "Not too hard to understand even for you, eh?"

"And what do I do?" Cirno asked.

"Go stop it, silly," Marisa said. "If Gensokyo goes boom, we'd all die. Like, explode and burn and we all die."

"Oh." Cirno blinked. She just realized the weight of the situation. "Oh."

"The whole Gensokyo would be in chaos," Sakuya said. "At least, you fairies won't be at your lake in peace."

"Hey! Is that a threat?" Cirno asked. She noticed that people like to mention Daiyousei and Misty Lake when they try to bargain with her. That's unfair and mean. She would do it if she wanted, not because of some kind of blackmail!

Flandre had been quiet since she introduced herself. It seemed she already knew about the situation. "I'll do it." She shrugged, then looked at Cirno. "Will you solve the incident with me?"

"Will you?" Sakuya asked.

"Ehhhhhhhhh." Cirno scratched her head. Everyone looked at her. Was it what she thought it was? "Me?" Solving incident? "No way." Who would let her do it? "I mean I can, but, but…"

"Go, Cirno," Daiyousei said with a reassuring smile. "You wanna be a hero. Now's your chance. You can do it!"

Cirno turned to look at her friend. She was a little less smart than her, but her words calmed her mind. Right, it was simple enough. Cirno glanced back at Sakuya and nodded. "Okay. I'll freeze whoever's doing this."

"Awesome!" Flandre patted Cirno on the back. It was quite a hard slap. "I like that. All we gotta do is go down the hole, and win every fight." The blonde grinned. "Simple huh?"

Cirno noticed faint red mist surrounding Flandre's body. It reminded her of something that had happened before. It was red. Red mist.

"Don't be too carefree," Sakuya said. "The only reason that I am not dragging you back is that the fairy needs you. Don't go make incidents." And with that, she disappeared.

Flandre scowled.

Daiyousei waved her hand as a goodbye and good luck and flew away. Cirno waved back while shouting like the typical fairies.

 

Flandre and Cirno were standing at the edge of a geyser that appeared behind the Hakurei Shrine. Hot airwaves hit their faces. From here, the evil spirits could be seen restlessly flying inside, and some finding a way to the surface.

Cirno glanced at her partner beside her. Flandre had been staring into the hole for quite a while, and with a big smile that clearly showed her fangs. The vampire then frowned. Cirno followed her gaze and noticed a group of vengeful spirits rushing out of the hole.

Bright stars grazed Cirno's face and killed those spirits in an instance.

"Hey, be careful!" Cirno turned to Marisa. Her black and white costume made her easy to identify.

"Sorry, sorry," Marisa said. "I have to keep watch of this big hole. This is as far as I can come. Good luck, 'kay?"

"Okay," Cirno said. It would be a lie to say she wasn't scared of going into an unknown place. But she wouldn't let it got to her. She's the strongest.

The witch patted her back and gave a smile. "You'll be fine. Make me proud."

The ice fairy grinned. "Of course."

Flandre shrugged.


	2. Chapter 2

Flandre could see from back at the surface that her partner was an immature kid. She could see it from the way she talked to Marisa, and the fact that she didn't seem to care about a thing in the world. On top of that, she's a fairy.

"... After that, they all learned something. I'm the strongest," Cirno said for the third time that they were there. "That was so great. The bullies have to think twice before doing something funny! And I don't spare them, no, even though they are my friends, heh." She grinned and threw her fist into the air. "I show them I'm the strongest!"

Flandre could only nod.

They were flying along the path that led deeper and deeper into the Earth. It was a cave, dark and humid. A cave like this should be cold, but it was warm. The air had some kind of energy in it.

Flandre had broken free of her room, finally. She wondered how Marisa was doing and, that was embarrassing. Patchouli had kindly strengthened her red mist aura. Sakuya had just been just there. One thing led to the other, then she had promised her that she would stop this.

Cirno was quiet now. It was boring. Flandre didn't like the idea of talking to a fairy first, but there was nothing else to do. She looked around. The cave wall was a constant reminder of the basement. The silence that was her only company.

The vampire began, "Do you know who I am?"

"Flandre," her partner said. She didn't say anything else.

That counted as not knowing, Flandre thought. "What about Remilia? Ring any bells?"

Cirno shook her head. "I don't remember names."

They continued heading forward in silence.

Turned out the fairy was immature and stupid. It would not be unusual if no one knew her, but anyone in Gensokyo should have heard her sister's name at least once. She made an incident. She had a mansion. Why wouldn't this fairy know?

But then again, she was a fairy. She probably tripped and died, and lost her memories along the way. Flandre could make an exception.

It's okay if she doesn't know me, Flandre thought. I'll show her who I am. Soon enough.

* * *

 

Fairies. Set them aflame.

Spirits. Claw them apart.

Flandre expected a little more on this adventure, but this. This was so...

"So boring," she said.

They seemed to have entered a deeper zone of the cave. More vengeful spirits. More rocks flying their way. More cobwebs. They let the automatic danmaku shooting spells on and kept going forward. Her bullets were red, and her partner's were blue.

Cirno's danmaku reflected her choice of clothes. White bullets and ice shards covered most of the space around her small body. Those shards shattered when they hit the wall and turned into ice clumps, melting away. When she needed to do more damage, the fairy summoned some blue orbs that shot like a cannon. Wasn't her power manipulating ice? Does that mean making ice? Flandre would ask later.

More rocks. More spirits and fairies, an indication that this was an incident. Flandre cast some fire spell and killed fairies coming her way. She looked at her partner and noticed that the ice fairy seemed to be having an existential crisis killing her own species.

_Tsk, I've gone through that._

Flandre thought, and immediately regretted it. She bit her lip. She shouldn't have touched that subject. It was just a short sentence that Patchouli blurted out. It might not even be true. C'mon Flandre.

The vampire sensed something ahead. She looked up to see a bucket. Any distraction was fine by her. Another thing to blast in flame. She created a fire in her palm with a flick of her wrist. The bucket span and ran away before she could throw the spell in her hand. Flandre growled. She could blast the rocks anyway, but a youkai appeared in front of them so she had to hold back.

"You're coming into my lair." A girl in a brown dress blocked their way. She had blonde hair, but not like Flandre's. It was darker, dirtier, and wasn't well taken care of. "A fairy and a vampire? Entering this cave? That's unusual."

Her dress flared out and curved at the ankles like the spider's abdomen. What gave it away that she was a spider youkai was her four spider legs that came out from her back.

Fried spider might be nice. Flandre sniffed the air and winced. Too bad it reeked of diseases. Just when she thought she could hunt her own prey. "She's yours, Cirno. I can help in the background."

"Eh," the ice fairy said. "I don't think we have to fight?"

"I promise I won't use that, okay," the earth spider said. "If you want to play, I can make some web patterns."

Flandre, ignoring the spider, shrugged. "I don't want to fight, but I don't want to keep this energy I have. It would be nice to release them somewhere." She showed the fairy her hand, still holding the fire spell.

"Keep it," Cirno said. "Don't be rude to the spider."

"Don't use fire please," the spider said.

Flandre frowned. "Fine fine, I'll keep it." She flicked her wrist again, this time the flame disappeared. She felt the heat lingered in her arm, which is unpleasant. "But I still want you to fight that thing."

"I don't wanna fight," Cirno said.

"Just do it."

"Why?"

The vampire blinked. She wanted to see her partner fight and that's all. Flandre pretended to be angry and thought of a reason. "Because we need power and the experience of working together, idiot." She glanced at the spider youkai. "If I'm not getting a fried spider, I want to see an ice cream spider."

Cirno turned to look at her. "I don't wanna hurt her. Do we have to?"

"I don't need a friend who's weak," Flandre said. "Prove it to me, strongest."

Friends. Strongest. That was the little push Cirno needed to make up her mind.

The spider youkai groaned, having made up her mind as well. "Stop ignoring me!" She started her danmaku spell, shooting bright green bullets in eight directions.

"Wahooo!" Cirno dodged and countered with her ice bullets.

Flandre asked with a smirk, "Thought you didn't want to fight?"

"I dunno! I'm just feeling really strong now!"

Flandre followed behind her. The thought of fighting an opponent in a danmaku spell with a partner was… new, and exciting. She liked the idea. It was not the same as when she fought Marisa. At that time, she was the host of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. She was the main one who used spell cards and Marisa was the one to dodge. This time, Cirno and Flandre were partners, both being the guest of this underworld.

Also, she wanted to see how a mere fairy would fight. Or how she struggled. How much she could bear. How hope left her eyes when faced by fate.

What can you do? Entertain me.

"Ready?" Cirno asked. Her confident grin was back.

"Ready," Flandre said.


	3. Chapter 3

Now that they were dodging bullets, Cirno finally noticed how many spider webs and strings were in the area. Some strings were pretty big, big enough to catch a human. It seemed sticky too. If humans ran blindly in the dark, they could get stuck and eaten. Cirno wouldn't wanna get stuck in there.

"I can burn them if we have to," Flandre offered. No, they weren't that desperate to destroy someone's home.

Suddenly, Cirno got yanked by the arm. Blue and red bullets grazed past her and hit the nearby wall. Everything else was a blur.

"Idiot, do you even know how to dodge on your own?" The vampire sighed and let go of the fairy, now dragged to a safer place.

"A few hits won't kill me," Cirno said. The spider youkai raised her hand and shot eight streams of white silk bullets. Simple enough.

"Can we bomb this?" Flandre asked and jumped back. "It will be quicker than waiting for her to tire out. This is really boring."

Cirno flew backward and out of the way of the danmaku pattern. "You're the one that said we should stock up, p-power!" It was dense and they got separated, but they were in no danger.

"Then what do you wanna do?"

"Fistfight? Friendly talk?"

"That's stupid!" Flandre shouted from somewhere in the danmaku maze. "And it wastes time!"

"But it works!" Cirno shouted back. "For the power!"

A short moment of silence. "Fine, do what you want!"

"Okay!" Cirno flew closer to the enemy, careful not to touch the edge of the blue bullets drifting in the air.

They both knew that this was a forced danmaku battle, which means they didn't have to follow the spell card rules. No need to stay until the end of the fight.

She's the strongest. She's the fairy that had lived for more than sixty years without dying. Dealing with a weak youkai was not a trouble. She was confident in her ability.

"Gatekeeper!" The fairy shouted.

Cirno looked at her enemy, a tsuchigumo, an earth spider youkai. She wasn't floating. She was standing with her four spider legs on a web wall. It covered the entrance to the underworld. No passenger could walk through. They could only be captured.

"I'm Cirno," she said, dropping to the ground. "I think it would be nice to talk a little? Get to know each other?"

"Yamame." She climbed down with her four spider legs and met the fairy on the cave floor. "What's your problem?"

She's still upset, Cirno thought. "Sorry for earlier, Yamame."

Yamame nodded with a frown.

"Umm," the fairy stepped closer. "Maybe we can… play. And get along. Let's play as you wanted."

The spider smirked, and her leg moved.

"Woah!" Cirno jumped back. The ground she was standing on was pierced by the spider leg. She didn't expect to be attacked so soon.

"You should've said that from the start!" The spider youkai said.

Cirno made a backflip to dodge the incoming red bullet which was followed by legs and legs. She shot ice clumps at her enemy and they got blocked by the spider legs. Cirno tried a faster attack. "Machine gun!"

Yamame saw a glowing ball appeared in front of the ice fairy. White bullets shot out in a row. She raised her legs to block them.

Deep down, Cirno wished she didn't have to fight. The result was clear. She knew she would win, so she didn't want to hurt them, but it can't be helped. Flandre seemed to love fighting or watch someone fighting.

While trying to get closer, spider leg grazed her skin. Cirno winced and hoped there was no venom on the leg. There shouldn't be. Or is there? She's pretty sure the venom was in the mouth and not the leg. Cirno allowed her cold aura to seep in her own body and numb the pain, and charged in once more. Her ice shield got broken by the leg stab. The spider had too many legs! Then the fairy thought of an idea.

Faster, faster. Cirno thought as she flew away and around the spider, and the youkai hadn't noticed. Of course, I am the strongest.

Yamame the spider shot threads to the wall around her, making big webs. Strings should get in the way of the fairy and make her move much slower. Yamame prepared her attack to knock the fairy out. She failed to notice that the fairy was already behind her back with an ice sword in hand.

Cirno swung her sword down, a little too quickly than it was expected from a fairy's strength. The blade was heading for the spider limbs.

Yamame widened her eyes. A green mist seeped from Yamame's back and spread.

Cirno flew back a few meters, confused by the sudden appearance of a green mist. It seemed to slow down in her chilling aura.

Her vampire friend sniffed the air and winced. "That's diseases! Cirno!"

"Huh?"

"Stop it, idiot! It's lethal!"

Cirno nodded and did the only thing she knew to stop something. She raised her hands. Her chilling aura spread and small icicles appeared all over the place, freezing everything they touched.

The mist was frozen, and with it, all the strings and spider web in the area.

"Ehh?" The spider youkai looked around. She was trapped in her own frozen strings. "What's this...!?" She hugged herself from the cold.

"What's that?" Cirno pointed at the ice wall between them, tainted in green. "It's the disease!"

"It is…" Yamame looked down.

Flandre dropped down next to the fairy. "I'm pretty sure you promised something, hm?" She approached the spider, who staggered back. The vampire growled, showing her fangs. "Who said that they wouldn't use the disease?" The spider whimpered. Flandre's smirk went wider.

She's enjoying it too much, Cirno thought.

"I'm sorry, okay!?" Yamame shouted. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to!"

Flandre straightened up. "Didn't mean to?"

"Yes, sorry…" The spider youkai sighed and went quiet. Flandre tried to scold her again, but Cirno touched her shoulder. Flandre narrowed her eyes at the fairy. She was not happy.

Cirno wasn't looking at her. Cirno was waiting for the spider to speak.

Yamame finally continued, "After all this time being here, I thought I have finally control it, but…"

"So," Cirno said. "You got sealed here because you can't control your own power?"

"It was a mistake!" Yamame said. "I didn't mean to kill them, no. I really didn't." The partner waited for her to continue. Yamame looked away. "I got sealed here because… I killed a human."

"Human?" Flandre asked. "When and where?"

"It was long ago, in a village not far from where I lived. It's a forest near a place filled with bamboo..." Yamame made the disease dissolved. The ice became a crystal clear blue once more. "Let's end this and talk later."

Cirno understood her intention. "Of course."

Yamame stepped back and prepared her danmaku, but Cirno already has a light shining in her hand, pointing at her.

"Laser beam!"

You would expect a beam that freezes things from an ice fairy and never a light beam. But you would be wrong. It was indeed a light beam, and it melted all the ice in the area. The spider web behind her returned to normal. Looking at an ice fairy using a heat attack, Yamame stood dumbfounded.

Cirno flicked a finger, and an ice cube hit her forehead.

"Ow!"

"I won," Cirno said. "Storytime."

"If you insist." Yamame thought for a moment. "One day, I was captured and he tied me. That man, he wanted the venom in my body to make some kind of potion. He tried to... extract the venom from me." She stopped at that. "I was scared…"

Cirno gave a reassuring nod.

"I think," Yamame said. "That when I was scared, the disease will spread. It's like a survival instinct, a defensive response. I can't control it. Before I know it, his body was being collected for research. A pharmacist from the bamboo forest came herself. And the humans discussed what to do with me."

"They probably wanna get rid of you," Flandre said.

"Yeah." the spider youkai sat down. "They want to kill me. But the bamboo pharmacist had an idea."

"Sealing you here?" Cirno asked.

Yamame nodded.

"She wanna give you a chance."

"And maybe as a way of thanking me, for a new subject," Yamame said. "I have a chance now, but I still can't control it! What's the point?"

Cirno felt bad for her. "When you can finally control it, you might be allowed up there again."

"Probably."

"But even if you don't, I'm with you!" the bucket said.

Flandre blinked. It was that bucket. It was a bucket with a girl in it. Her hair was cyan and had two short pigtails swaying. She floated and landed next to the spider youkai.

"Parsee can't come play with us, but you know, we can visit her bridge and maybe party there. We can go to the city!" The bucket girl hugged Yamame. "I don't know about the world above, but this place welcomes you, Yamame. Even if you hate this place, even if you think of here as a prison…"

Slowly, Yamame hugged her back. "How could I hate a place you love so much, Kisume? I can try to… appreciate it. Maybe it isn't that bad."

"Yay," the bucket girl hugged her tighter.

Cirno wished she could help. Having more people here would be less lonely. "I'll tell my friends. They might wanna come play with you."

"Thanks," Kisume said.

"You are going down there, right?" Yamame asked, standing up. "You really wanna go?"

"We have to," Cirno said. "The crow underground is kinda doing something bad, so we have to stop her."

"Oh. That's why it shakes a lot. Makes sense." The spider youkai nodded. "You will meet Parsee. She's the bridgekeeper. The bridge where a river separates the two world, above ground and underworld."

"Parsee doesn't like visitors," Kisume warned. "You can't avoid a fight."

Yamame stepped forward. "Give me your hand."

Cirno did as told. Her hand was locked in a death grip handshake. Then, she felt a rush of power.

"Consider it a gift," Yamame said. "Power is scarce underground."

"Thanks," Cirno said.

They continued on their way. The cave is quiet and dark. Cirno glanced to her left to look at her friend.

Flandre was pretty silent.


	4. Chapter 4

_They probably wanna get rid of you,_ Flandre had said.

_You probably wanna get rid of yourself._ That sentence remained a thought.

Flandre was bothered. That spider story bothered her in a way she could not describe. She kept thinking about it. It felt like it was inside, and the atmosphere in this cave didn't make it better.

Quiet and dark.

Just like the basement.

Remilia made a bedroom filled with toys and plenty of space to run around. The corridors outside were for her to play, too. Her sister told her to be a good girl, to never leave this floor without Patchouli or Meiling keeping an eye on her, to not destroy things when she wasn't in her bedroom.

It would have been nice. It would have been a perfect life for a little girl. The only thing wrong with it all was that this floor was a basement floor.

Nothing to see. Nothing to do.

Nothing to be angry about but also nothing to be happy for.

 

* * *

 

"Heyy how did I do?" Cirno asked, bouncing with each step as her wings flapped the air. "It's a nice fight, right?"

Flandre frowned. She kept walking. The area after that spider's web was peaceful. There was no evil spirit anywhere, and Flandre had hoped to spend that time being by herself.

"Hello? You were there!" Cirno called from behind her. "Wasn't it fun?"

The vampire stopped walking. She turned around and looked at her. Cirno backed away.

"We've known each other for, like, an hour?" Flandre asked. Her voice was cold. The fairy couldn't do anything but stood there. "What do you expect? My attention? My love? A cookie?" She scowled. "You're getting none."

"Hey, wait!"

The vampire flew ahead. Cirno sighed and followed her. Flandre was in a bad mood, that's for sure. Her look felt like it could destroy. Cirno didn't want to get in her bad side so soon.

Cirno caught up to her partner, but she gave up on the idea of talking to her for now. She made an ice bowl appeared, then she made ice clumps floating in front of her. The ice fairy focused on the ice clumps, pressuring them with more and more coldness until they exploded. Small ice shards dropped down on her bowl. There, Cirno's one and only strongest shaved ice.

She noticed her partner casting a spell.

"That's… blood?" Cirno asked.

Flandre made a glass bottle appeared in her hands, a magic spell taught by Patchouli. The bottle was the kind that magicians used to store potion. In this case, it stored human blood, preserved with magic. Patchouli was kind to her. She taught her all she wished to know even though they didn't have much time together. Magic, geography, mathematics, science, and a lot more. Flandre wished they could do more things together other than being kept in the library.

"Blood, yes." Flandre drank the bright red blood from her glass bottle. "Human blood."

"Ohhh..." Cirno glanced at the glass bottle and looked away. "And... that's your only food?"

"I can eat other things too, of course." The vampire looked at her partner with an ice spoon of shaved ice in her mouth. "Fairies don't need to eat, but you still eat. It's the same."

The vampire raised the bottle of blood to her lips, but then, the ground shook.

Cirno leaned backward, her wings repeatedly flapping, before hitting the ground with a thud. Stupid fairy. Flandre managed to not lose her balance from the unexpected earthquake.

"Ow..." The ice fairy touched her head. She looked up at her. "Flandre, you okay?"

Flandre raised her eyebrows. She's the one to talk. The vampire bent down and held her hand out.

Cirno looked confused at first, but grinned from ear to ear as she grabbed her hand and stood up. She dusted her clothes. "That crow. Can't believe she did that again!"

"Making earthquake?" Flandre asked.

"Making me... Yeah, that. Earthquake is bad," Cirno said and looked at the vampire's bottle. "You didn't spill a drop."

Flandre held up the content in her hand. All blood was in the glass bottle. Phew.

The fairy nodded and looked at her. Flandre felt like that look meant something, something at all. "Flandre?" Cirno asked. "I'm curious, but, can I ask you something?"

She nodded.

"You were a human right?" Cirno asked. "I mean, a vampire bites a human, then a human will become a vampire, right?"

Flandre raised her eyebrows. Unusual question. "Correct."

"Oh really?" Cirno's eyes lit up. "Are you immortal?"

Why the sudden interest in vampires? Oh right, fairies are stupid and know nothing. "I don't age, so yes, but I can die. Vampires can be killed by various means."

"Like not drinking blood and being under the sun for too long?"

"And a serious injury to the heart or brain," the vampire added, mildly surprised that the stupid fairy knew such a thing. It's not like it's a secret, but one would expect weaker youkai and beings to only care about fighting and themselves. Flandre took another gulp of blood. "After all, we were human, and a human body is fragile, just like us."

"But vampires are strong. Marisa said so," Cirno said.

Pfft, that witch. "Sure we are. We are agile and have superhuman strength..." Flandre trailed off. "But no matter how strong we have become, we were human. We are still in the same human body with its restriction. Magic is the only thing keeping us alive, and magic could only do so much."

Cirno nodded again. She asked the last question, "How exactly do you become a vampire?"

Flandre froze.

That was a personal question, she thought. No human would be willing to let a vampire bite them when humans were supposed to be their food. Going through the transformation to become a vampire, or slowing dying, bleeding out to death on the floor. It was never a human's choice. It was vampire's.

It was disturbing to even think about it. No one has ever asked this question. Why did this fairy have to? It was terrible, terrible, and… Flandre tried to recall the details of that day, that incident. She drew a blank.

"You don't know?" Cirno asked after a long pause.

"... I don't know," Flandre admitted. Yes, somehow she didn't remember. Has it been too long?

 

* * *

 

The cave was uncomfortable. It now had a green glow, and the air felt different. Smell like running water. Flandre blasted everything like usual. Spirits and well, everything.

"I don't remember too," Cirno suddenly said. "If that helps..." The ice fairy was spraying ice bullets. She glanced at her with sad eyes.

_Oh, she's pitying me._

"I don't know how it's like when I was still little, or the beginning, or if there is something called little for fairies. Maybe we don't grow." The fairy was short, shorter than her, and her face did look like a child's face. "Well, no one can recall their lives that much, I know. Still, I know humans remember more than this. Any beings remember more than fairies." She looked at her again. "Can you remember yourself as a child?"

"... A little," Flandre said. "I know that I spent a lot of time in my mansion. Almost never leave, actually. I just… don't remember the transition, how I ended up in my current bedroom."

Cirno nodded and looked ahead.


	5. Chapter 5

After flying passed a long, narrow tunnel. They reached a spacious space glowing green.

The glowing green was from the river, separating where they were and the world further down. Separating the underworld from Gensokyo. The wooden bridge was wide and connected the two worlds. Litten candles brighten the area and guided the passenger's eyes to the underworld.

"Jealous…" A youkai sneered. "Why do you want to go to the Former Capital?"

Yamame and the bucket girl said her name was Parsee, the bridgekeeper. She was standing on the bridge. She had dirty blonde, like that spider. Her ears were pointy and her eyes were green. Parsee seemed like the type to sit against a wall while holding the knees to the chest and staring off angrily into space.

"Hi, I'm Cirno. This is Flandre. We want to pass the bridge and investigate the cause of this earthquake. It is an incident and we cannot ignore," Cirno said. "At least, that's the script."

"You should go back," Parsee said.

"No."

Parsee narrowed her eyes. "Then you have to pay the toll."

"How?" The fairy asked. They didn't have much money.

The youkai looked at them standing close to each other. "Are you partners?"

"Yes?" Cirno said.

"If then," Parsee grinned. "Blood would be nice."

Flandre floated up as well as the youkai. Cirno stepped sideways since the vampire had asked to fight alone this time.

It would be cool to see her partner fight too. Cirno had never seen a vampire, only heard from Keine and Marisa. Vampires were really strong, they said. She wanted to see.

 

* * *

 

Pink flower was shot while the big green orbs drifted, obscuring the view. Flandre flew out of the way in time before any petals would pierce her. Green orbs kept getting more tensed and they started following her.

How annoying, Flandre thought, as she destroyed them with fire. Fire and danmaku seemed to cancel each other out pretty well.

Then, Flandre felt a little… weird, and the world seemed a little more green.

Her bad mood was worse. Worse. Intensified tenfold. Her chest tightened and her breath quicken. So irritating.

"... Not following rules, are we?" Flandre growled, drowning in her intense emotion boiling inside.

"Same to you," Parsee said. "It's underground anyway."

The youkai separated into two. Oh, a clone. Flandre could do that too. Green eyed monster. Green eyes.

She dodged all the bullets flawlessly, but her head was a mess.

A jealousy youkai, huh? Flandre felt like her enemy was resonating. Flandre could understand that. She was jealous. The vampire glanced at her partner who looked back. But jealous of what?

"Bridgekeeper." This youkai was weak and had a lame job. Not jealous at all.

"Bridge princess!" Parsee corrected and shot more green bullets.

"Heh." Flandre flew out of the way while making her own danmaku.

Fire.

The vampire managed to reach the clone and clawed her, destroying it.

Magic. Physical attack.

She backed away and they shot spell cards again.

_Is this all?_

Flandre used the red bullets she was so proud of. They made the best maze.

_Is this all I can do?_

Remilia could manipulate fate. What about her, her sister? Just spamming fire and destroy things and that's it?

_Am I this weak?_

Thinking that made Flandre felt… Bitter? Disappointed? Jealous? Jealous. Did the emotion lead to the thought, or the other way around? It didn't matter. Her heart felt like it was squeezed. A weak human body. How insignificant she was.

It felt like a slap to the face when she realized how weak she really was. But it didn't make sense. But there was nothing else.

_No, I'm not, I'm not fighting seriously enough._

"Laevateinn."

A black crooked clock needle appeared in her hand. Flandre charged her trusty weapon with fire magic, prepared to vent this anger, this feeling, somewhere.

 _It doesn't change much, does it?_  She almost laughed.  _Fire. Magic. Physical attack. What is even unique about me?_

Flandre wielded her weapon and swung it down on the bridge, leaving a trail of red light.

An explosion. It rumbled.

All Cirno saw was fire, and smoke and destruction, and a waste of beautiful bridge. And disappointment. She thought her partner, of all people, would be above this. It was a wish, an expectation. It shattered.

 _I won't be like you_ , Cirno thought. _I will not be like this._

 

* * *

 

Flandre took a deep breath and looked at her works. Burning, swaying red.

But, it stopped, followed by strong wind. The red has turned to white, and smoke has turned to steam.

The big ice clump in the middle bothered her greatly.

"Cirno!" The vampire screamed.

"You're the wrong one!" Cirno shouted.

A blizzard has appeared, stopping the fire. Cirno stood next to the ice sculpture of Parsee.

"Wrong? What!?" Flandre scowled. "You're getting in my way… And you steal my prey!"

"No." Cirno turned around. "Do you know what you have just done?"

Flandre hissed. "I do what I want."

"You tried to kill her!" The ice fairy shouted. "At least you should feel bad!"

"Tch." The vampire crossed her arms.

"And those flame you made, it's too strong! What if this place got destroyed?"

"Doesn't matter."

"You…" Cirno stared at her, and turned away.

She walked to the frozen Parsee. She touched the ice surface. She was trying to save her from that fire but she admitted, she went a bit too far with the ice. The whole place was covered with small ice shards.

The ice fairy loved freezing frogs and removing the ice. There are always one in third chance however, that the frog will shatter.

She wouldn't want it to shatter.

"... Please don't be the one in third."

She applied some force. The ice surface started to crack. Cirno yanked her hand back.

"I can burn it," Flandre said from behind.

"No!" Cirno touched the ice again. When was the last time she make the ice disappear without cracking it?

Ohhhhhhhhh...

She clapped both of her hands together and started concentrating. A faint light ball appeared between her hands.

Flander raised her eyebrows.

Cirno moved the ball closer to the ice and it spread across the ice sculpture. The ice slowly melted. Parsee dropped to the ground coughing and glared at them.

"Sorry. Are you okay?" Cirno knelt down.

"Jealous… of your power…" Parsee coughed some more.

"Ummm I'll come play with you some other time…"

Cirno stood up, dust her clothes, and glanced at her partner once more. The vampire was crossing her arms, unfazed. How can someone be so snappy and calm afterward?

"Fairy, how could you fight like that?"

Cirno turned around to look at Parsee. "Coz I believe I can."

"That's all?"

"Huhhh…" Cirno rubbed her chin. "I just believe I am strong, and then I am. I mean, when you know you can, you try, right?"

 

They flew across the green river. Flandre sighed. She shouldn't be feeling bad. She felt bothered again, but not the same with that spider youkai. It felt heavier. Deeper.

_Is this guilt?_

No way. She couldn't feel guilty for such a weak youkai.


	6. Chapter 6

They headed to the former hell, mercilessly killing all evil spirits in the way.

"Man, don't you have any self-control?"

"If I don't, this cave would have exploded."

"It's not enough! You're like a baby! Have you ever lived?"

Flandre scowled. A fairy calling her a baby? A short-lived creature judging her life experience? "Who are you to teach me?"

"I don't know, but I'm sure you have never been taught!"

Flandre blasted the rocks.

"Yeah right. Keep destroying!" The icy fairy taunted.

The vampire sighed and keep destroying things along the way.

The journey to the Ancient City felt like forever. Flandre wished it ended soon. She wished time moved faster. And she wished that the ice fairy would be cheerful and started telling her stories again.

Finally, she noticed the lights on the horizon

There, the Former Capital. It seemed too big for the small oni population here, but it still had some life. Houses were decorated with red hanging lanterns. Oni were drinking sake everywhere.

They dropped down to the floor and approached the gate. There was a tall oni standing there.

"Suika told me you'd come," the oni with a red horn said. "Head there and ya'll see the palace. If someone in the city asks, tell 'em big boss Yuugi sent you."

"Yuugi the big oni sent me," Cirno said. "Real thanks! This is a lot easier than I thought."

The oni chuckled. "Y'all thought ya need to fight everyone ya see huh? Not all youkai are idiots. If there's one? Gotta be the raven."

"Hell raven, our main suspect," Flandre said.

"It's our suspect y'know," Yuugi said. "Satori said she hasn't seen 'em since last night. That raven might've slacked off and didn't do her job..."

Yuugi was a tall person, and her arms were all muscle. Cirno could almost feel the raw power from the oni's body. She must be really strong, and highly respected. Also, she had blonde hair. Bright, clean blonde this time, unlike the other two youkai in the past.

"Why are you helping us?" Cirno asked.

The oni patted her head. "I help ya 'cause I like them strong and brave people."

Cirno grinned. "Teehee."

Yuugi then put her other hand on Flandre's head, and the vampire growled.

"Ya need some work," the oni said. "Spend some time in there and go talk. No, ya can't leave the city until ya spend some time in there. Yes, y'all need to go talk at the bar."

They walked along the streets in uncomfortable silence. They kept walking until the houses were less and less crowded, and soon they were in the deserted part of the city.

"Um," Cirno began. "I still think you should feel guilty."

Flandre crossed her arms. "Why should I?"

"Because you do bad things!"

Flandre shrugged, half trying to act nonchalant, and half not understanding herself why she has to feel bad.

Cirno bit her lip. It must seem like Flandre completely didn't care, which wasn't true, but close enough. "It was wrong."

"Shut up."

"Listen to me!"

Flandre wished the fairy could leave her alone. "Stop nagging me."

"You'll keep doing it," Cirno said. "You think it's okay."

"I do what I want."

"I can't accept that!"

Flandre growled. "We do our mission, and we will go our separate ways. Don't you think this is pretty pointless? Just shut up."

Cirno froze. "... That's how you see me?"

Flandre almost felt bad. Almost.

"Don't you need me?"

_I do._ Flandre almost said it. "And don't you need me?"

"I do, but not like this. So I'm nagging you! You can't be okay with killing or things like that!"

It hurts.

It was on point. That's it. That was what had been bothering her. No, she doesn't. The fairy thinks she doesn't need me. Even Flandre didn't know why it bothered her. Doesn't matter.

"WHY DON'T YOU JUST ACCEPT ME THEN?!"

"AND YOU THINK YOU'RE GOOD ENOUGH?!"

Flandre was taken aback. The fairy liked to shout, sure, but not quite like this. She didn't expect Cirno to yell at her.

Cirno panted. She took a deep breath.

"I am disappointed."

The ice fairy flew to the other direction. Soon, she was out of sight.

Flandre still wasn't sure what it was, but she sure felt bad. She crossed her arms again and paced around the city.

What's a big deal? She was trying to destroy an enemy for them both. Is not destroying her body such a big deal? Is killing such a big deal?

Her sister kept her underground, in the basement. Was it for her not to destroy things…

How dare.

How dare someone try to control her? To make her do what they want? It's her fate, and her life. If even her sister tries to control her, then she's mad.

How I use my power is my choice. No one else has the right.

Flandre stopped walking when she thought of Cirno.

Being controlled by fate, being sealed, sure feel bad. Does Remilia have the right to do that to her?

Do I have the right to do that to anyone?

It hurts.

 

* * *

 

Many oni were at the bar, of course. Aside from the endless amount of sake, the bar also provided a delicious snack to go with alcohol.

Cirno and Flandre tensed when they noticed each other. They tried some sake at the bar, following the red horn oni's command. They took some more sip and decided to eat small dishes instead.

Cirno shuffled in her seat. She grabbed a snack and chewed on it with a passion.

Flandre wasn't eating. The air between them was bothering Flandre. "Small talk," she whispered. The oni told them to have a small talk.

Cirno blinked and glanced at her. "Oh right."

"... How about we talk about you?"

"Me?" Cirno blinked again. "Fairies?"

Flandre nodded. "I told you about vampires already."

Cirno was shoving shaved ice into her mouth. Water flavored. "Ask me first. I dunno where to start."

"How was your trip in this city?" Flandre asked.

"I talked with some Oni," Cirno said. "They're kind. I asked about the earthquake and they said it was normal."

"Normal?"

"They said that she needs to blow some steams. Something about new power something. No one knows about it. Only rumors."

Flandre nodded. She felt ashamed that the fairy gathered information for them while she was focusing on herself. "Are you good at magic?"

"You serious?" Cirno smirked at her. She's about to brag. "In case you don't know, faie or fee was a woman skilled in magic. Faierie, you know? I'm good since I exist."

"French," Flandre said. "I'm surprised you know."

Cirno pouted at that.

"Okay, okay. Of course you know about your own species."

"Naw. I know because I'm the strongest. And smartest-"

"Fairy," Flandre quickly added.

"Whatever."

Flandre thought about a magical creature book she had read. "I thought fairies are equally stupid."

Cirno glanced at her and sighed. "Well, you're right. Kinda."

"Even though you get the worst grade at school?"

"Hey where have you heard that?" Cirno said. "I'm the only fairy at school so that means nothing, still!"

"So," Flandre said. "Equally stupid?"

"Fairies aren't supposed to live long. I told you," Cirno said. "We don't need extra memories of past lives. Not all of it anyway. I mean, that's how it works."

"You die. You forget." Flandre said.

Cirno nodded. "That's why I can keep telling my friend the same stories of my adventure, again and again. They keep forgetting."

"But you still remember the fact that you guys forget?"

"I noticed," Cirno said. "I've survived long enough to."

"For a long time?"

"Sixty years at least. Not long for you but still." Cirno made an ice cube and put it in her mouth. It calmed her mind. "I haven't died for quite a while. Long enough to see my friends forgetting things. They're too weak to stay alive. Too stupid to remember. Too dumb to know that they gotta avoid death if they wanna be smarter."

Flandre chewed on the snack.

Cirno pointed at herself. "Well, I've been avoiding death, so here I am, the strongest, smartest fairy you'll ever meet in your lifetime!"

"I live long, you know."

"Doesn't matter." The ice fairy said as a joke but frowned after. "Maybe I die too often in the past. And sometimes I wonder what was like at the beginning. Guess I'll never know."

Flandre looked at her. "Huh."

"Oh. And… I think you will remember it. I mean, you didn't die, so I think memories can't get lost. Maybe you forget it but, you'll remember. I think."

"Thanks."

"Huhhh…" Cirno observed her with raised eyebrows.

"You got a problem?"

"No."

Flandre tried an ice popsicle Cirno had been nagging her about. Felt like eating ice. Oh, this one is ice flavored, an upgrade to water flavored. Thank you very much.

 

* * *

 

The tall oni with her red horns waved at them. She was waiting at the gate.

"Finished walking around? How did your li'l heart-to-heart talk go? It helps to get all the feelings out there, don't ya think?" Yuugi grinned.

"No," Flandre muttered. It didn't contain the usual bite, much to their surprise.

"It's so cool, big boss!" Cirno said, waving her arms around. "The houses are nice and, and bright light!"

"Well thank you y'all. It's an honor," Yuugi said. "Ya'll see a cat with two tails. Make sure to fight her."

Cirno nodded.

Yuugi knelt down beside Flandre. "... If ya don't drop your pride soon, ya'll lose more in the long run. Be careful." The oni stood up and bit them farewell.


	7. Chapter 7

As they went further and further away from the city, the surrounding got dimmer and dimmer. Soon the place truly felt like a cave. Dark, dark, with an eerie feeling.

The path was dark. It was supposed to lead to the mansion, but the atmosphere of this place didn't seem like it. Maybe it was a small mansion?

Flandre flicked her wrist, and a fireball appeared in her hand, painting the cave wall in warm orange. They headed forward in silence until it wasn't silent anymore. For Flandre, it was the explosion of air. For Cirno, it was ice clumps clashing each other and the wall. Bullets were shot and the spirits disappeared. In the end, Flandre had not asked about the ice fairy's power. It could wait for later.

One thing she realized was that the ice fairy was pathetic at fighting. She shot randomly and had to dodge a lot afterward.

"Hey." Flandre moved closer to the fairy who turned to look at her. "You can't just spam ice like that. Can't you see the enemies are stronger?"

"Well, yeah," Cirno said with a furrowed eyebrows. "They're harder to kill."

"Watch and learn." Flandre focused her fire danmaku to kill the stronger spirits. Their bullets disappeared with them. "This is how you countered their attack. I call it 'erasing bullets'. Save time and life."

"Woahh…" Cirno gaped at her. "Thanks."

Flandre didn't help her out of kind-heartedness. It was pity. A long-lived fairy shouldn't die so soon as her partner.

Flandre taught Cirno some more tactics. How to graze and how to block, and helped with her magic. That fairy was good at magic naturally but lacked knowledge. That fairy nodded and followed her without complaint.

Cirno also showed some fairy tricks, like using big attacks when the enemy was still. They were child play to the vampire, but it was still useful to remember. And of course the fairy had to show her the great light beam.

Flandre winced a little. That spell did her good back at the mansion.

Cirno also did the ice variation, using a cold beam. Flandre could see now that Cirno's skill involved around controlling heat.

"When I use ice, it's like 'puff' and then there is ice," Cirno said. "I feel the warmth of confident, while the enemies freeze to death."

"Like the beam?" Flandre asked. "The lasers? What about the blizzard? How did you?"

"Huh, what?" Cirno looked at her. Stupid fairy. Though, Flandre was talking too fast too.

"At the bridge," Flandre began. "That was... a good skill." Good enough to cover her flame. "That would be useful in the Nuclear Furnace."

Cirno thought for a moment. Flandre needed to know the ultimate skill of this fairy. "I don't know."

Flandre narrowed her eyes. "What?"

"... I'm not sure how it works?" Cirno said.

Auggg stupid fairy. "Okay it is a skill and it creates a lot of ice in wide range. You wouldn't not know it! The ice and the coldness. They look as if you summon them."

"Nah."

Flandre glanced at her. "Nah?"

"That doesn't sound right," Cirno said.

Flandre felt like they had been teaching each other for a long time. They still couldn't see the mansion.

"Why are we not there yet?" Cirno asked. "I'm tired."

"It's not just my feeling, huh," Flandre said. This was unusual. Was it magic that blocked their way, or was it hypnosis? "We are lost."

"Hey, hey!" The fairy shouted and waved her arms around, then flew forward.

Flandre tried to call her and went after her instead. What's up with her, going without telling? Flandre kept up with her partner and saw what Cirno was yelling at. "A cat?"

They dropped down on the floor and knelt to look at the black cat sitting there.

"Hey cat, I'm Cirno. This is Flandre," the fairy said. Cirno was the one talking, as usual. "Can you show us the way to the mansion?"

Meow, it answered, and ran.

They ran after the cat.

After a while, they arrived at a place they haven't reached before. It was still dark, but at least it was an area, wide enough to run around and shot danmaku spells. The air smells different, Flandre thought.

The cat then disappeared, and a catgirl appeared.

"Rin," the cat girl said. "Why are you here? Lost?"

Cirno was amazed.

"We are heading to the Palace of the Earth Spirit," Flandre said. "We have to talk to someone."

The cat girl smirked. She has two cat ears and a black dress. "I see. I see." She wagged her black tails.

"Oh," Cirno said. "She has two tails!"

Rin blinked. "Yes…?"

"We have to fight you in a danmaku spell," Flandre said. "Do you accept?"

A confused face turned into an excited one. "Sure."

 

* * *

 

Claws. Claws. It's the perfect word to describe the cat girl's danmaku. Rows of orange danmaku like waves of claws crawled to them.

"Frost Columns!" Cirno touched the ground and cold laser split the area, a creative ice maze.

Flandre watched them for a moment. Cirno's way of fighting was not that bad actually. Flandre always thought that it was wrong, and dumb, and impractical. It showed how simple and how inexperienced the fairy was. And yet, the fight happening in front of her was a magnificent, chaotic, filled with energy danmaku fight.

_Have I been doing everything wrong?_

Flandre got her weapon and charged it.

"Wait wait wait right there, Flandre!" Cirno said. "Have you not learned your lesson?"

"I use my power however I want. It's mine."

"But not killing!"

The cat girl stopped shooting. Her enemies were arguing.

"Why can't I?" Flandre asked.

"You keep acting like you hate being controlled, so think about it? Killing?" Cirno looked at her. "Aren't you controlling other people's lives that way? Deciding their fate?"

Flandre blinked. She did feel like being controlled, being sealed, by her sister. Maybe Remilia was controlling her, but at least she didn't kill her.

What if she… kill me?

It would be a lot worse than being locked up. At least she was now outside. But if she was dead, she wouldn't have the slightest chance.

"Fine, I see your point," Flandre said. By the way, you prepared the script beforehand, didn't you.

They kept fighting for a while. Flandre mostly dodged and observed the fairy, still curious about her power. Ice and ice, and Cirno could fly faster than she thought. And the way she swung the ice sword was somehow interesting. And white lasers again?

"Stop!"

A voice shouted. The cat girl stopped her danmaku spell, so they stopped too. The surrounding faded, and lit by colorful lights from the mansion's windows. All eyes looked toward the voice.

A pink haired girl with an extra eye stood there.


	8. Chapter 8

The floating third eye made Flandre feel uneasy.

It was dull red, and as big as a tennis ball. The eye glanced left and right with curiosity. It blinked, then floated back and rested perfectly on the girl's palms. Unlike the red eye, the pink haired girl looked at them with a bored face.

"I am Satori Komeiji," she said. "Welcome to the Palace of the Earth Spirit."

Cirno and Flandre looked at each other.

"Please come in." Satori walked into the building.

Stone walls surrounded them as they walked along the hallway. Light shone through stained-glass windows and reflected purple squares on the floor, giving this place a western style vibe and a sense of mystery. Their footsteps echoed in the hallway. Flandre looked around while Cirno was in awe. The fairy had never seen a place as beautiful as this. It felt sacred.

"There's nothing sacred about it. It is just a mansion." Satori turned to look at her.

Cirno blinked. Was it really what she thought it was? The pink haired girl nodded. Cirno gasped, and thought to herself, 'If you can hear this, say nya!'

Satori's eyebrows twitched a little. She curled her hands into loose fists. "Nya."

"Ohhhhhh…"

Flandre sighed. What a kid.

 

* * *

 

"Isn't it normal?"

"No it's not."

They were waiting for tea at the table. They didn't know why these people were so polite to them. Cirno started talking about power, and turned out she was curious this entire time why Flandre was upset.

"I mean, you have fire," Cirno said. She couldn't understand her partner. Why is Flandre so offended? "And magic!"

"You don't get it fairy." Flandre growled. "You never will." It was not common, not normal for her. Her sister was strong and powerful, while Flandre was weak and common. The fairy without a family wouldn't understand.

"Why won't I?" Cirno asked. "Can't I at least try?"

Flandre was taken aback. Was it by how straightforward, how dumb this fairy is? Or was it by her pure innocence?

Cirno lowered her voice, "Can't we be friends?"

Flandre didn't answer, because she didn't get it herself. "What's good about you?"

"At least, I'm good at what I do," Cirno said.

Flandre smirked. "Freezing things?"

Cirno grinned back. "One of them."

The vampire blinked a few times and looked away. That wasn't the response she had expected.

"Anyway, is something bothering you?" Cirno asked. "You asked about magic."

Flandre didn't know why this fairy put up with her until now. Is she trying to help? Flandre didn't need it.

_Don't you need me?_

_I do._

Maybe she wanted it. Maybe she wanted help, or someone.

"... Bothered," Flandre began. No, she was not asking for help. The ice fairy offered it herself. "I feel bothered. This… isn't right. Something isn't, but I can't trust myself."

Cirno nodded and listened.

"It's just… a feeling…"

 

* * *

 

Rin carried the tea tray and was leaving the kitchen when her master called her. "Wait."

The cat girl turned around, tighten her grips on the tray. "... Yes, Satori-sama?"

"Where have you been?"

Rin closed her mouth shut, but she knew it was pointless in front of a satori.

"Okuu what?" She asked. "... Overwhelming power, I see. It is your doing."

Even though the cat girl tried to empty her mind, when she heard questions, she would answer it in her mind whether she liked it or not.

Satori knew that fact well and exploited it.

"It's not your fault. I'm not angry," Satori said. "Let them do it. Trust them."

"Thank you, Satori-sama…" Rin almost bowed but then she realized that she was holding the tea tray.

"It should be nicely warm by now," Satori smiled.

 

* * *

 

"... Ahh I think I can get that," Cirno said. "Knowing too well you are the strongest but you just can't prove it! It's the worst!"

Flandre shrugged. "Yeahh…"

"I would be so mad! So mad I freeze a whole frog family, even!" The ice fairy yelled. "So mad I shoot a laser!"

Flandre nodded.

"So mad I would be a little moody, like you are now…" Cirno glanced at her. "But I won't be so snappy like you. I'm a good fairy."

Flandre sighed but with a smirk. If this fairy was trying to make her felt better, it worked.

Rin the cat girl entered the room with a tea tray in hand. She placed the cups in front of them and poured tea from the pot.

"Nice tea." Flandre said, sniffing it. It reminded her of Sakuya's tea, but it's not hot enough. She pointed at the cup. The tea started boiling. She drank it with a smirk.

Cirno touched the cup it and frowned. She then got an idea. She moved her fingers and a few ice cubes dropped into the tea. She drank it with a grin.

Rin, who was standing right there, facepalmed. All her effort making them at the right temperature…

Satori sipped the tea. "Nice tea as usual, Rin."

That made the cat girl smiled a little.

While the vampire and the fairy were arguing about the taste of the tea, Satori placed both hands on the table.

"Well now." The pinked haired girl sat upright. "Look into my eye."

And just like that, both of them has a strong urge to look at the third eye.

 

* * *

 

Cirno opened her eyes in panic. She dashed out of her window and saw humans. Are they fishing? No. They are holding a frog by the leg. They have knives, and… a bomb?

"Hah!" Cirno sent a warning shot of ice shard at them.

The humans dropped their weapons. "A big fairy!" One of them said.

"I am the fairy of ice!" Cirno shouted. "Go away. Move or I'll shoot!"

The humans looked at each other. "She is the so-called idiot fairy. We should be fine." One of them picked the frog back up.

"No!" Cirno charged forward.

Just when the tip of the knife touched the frog's skin, a large shadow cast on those humans.

A big frog appeared from the water. A long tongue came out of its mouth and rolled the humans up. The big frog ate them.

Cirno stared at the giant frog, speechless.

"Thanks for saving the frogs." A voice came from above. A girl with a hat jumped down from the frog's head and landed on the shore. "How long has it been since we met when I wasn't trying to punish you?"

"Suwako..." Cirno said.

"I thought you liked killing frogs for fun," Suwako said with her hands on her hip. "The yama were so tired of judging frogs!"

Cirno looked down.

"... But you actually care about them now, and the rate of your frog killing has greatly decreased! You were just practicing, weren't you?"

"Heheh…" Cirno scratched her head.

"Aye aye, you have grown a bit." Suwako patted her head. "Hope I can trust you on protecting the frogs in this lake!"

"Of course." Cirno grinned. "You can trust me."

Cirno didn't know why. When the Misty Lake was in danger, she felt the danger too.

 

* * *

 

Cirno blinked. That was what happened quite a few years ago. She was in a room. A big room underground, at the table. The palace. Oh right. The eye. The red eye blinked back at her. She found it endearing.

Cirno turned around and looked at her partner. Flandre was staring at her.

"Did you see that?" Cirno asked. "Or… something cool?" Flandre shook her head. "Anything at all?"

Flandre shook her head again. "Did you…?"

"I am the strongest." Cirno grinned. "I am."

"I trust both of you," Satori said. "Cirno, please follow Rin. Flandre, stay here."

 

* * *

 

Rin led Cirno to the courtyard. It was next to the mansion, right outside. She noticed a hole on the floor. There were stairs. The air near it felt hot.

"How was it? What do you think?" Rin asked. "What Satori-sama showed you?"

"It's… weird," Cirno said. "Those gods, like Suwako, they are strong. Marisa's also strong. She's a strong human. I never think about it before…" Cirno looked at her hand. "I think I start to understand Marisa's laser spirit. What she called strength."

"Let's see." Rin waved her hand in a circular motion, and evil spirits approached them.

Cirno used her light beam on the evil spirits. She remembered now, how she saved the frogs these past few years. It was freezing but in reverse. Like how Cirno can move faster when she tried to reversed-freeze the air behind her, the air pushed her forward. Like how she wielded her giant ice sword, it was lighter and easier to wield.

It might sound stupid, but Cirno had only understood her own power after using it for so long. She tried to save the frogs. She tried to copy Marisa's spell. She tried, and then she could. Because she knew she could, that's why she tried.

The strategy never fails her.

And Cirno hoped Flandre was okay. She hoped words could move her. And that she wouldn't lie to herself.


	9. Chapter 9

It didn't work. Satori's hypnosis or whatever didn't work on Flandre. While Cirno became so alerted and full of energy, nothing happened to Flandre.

"Please let me try again," Satori said, and her third eye blinked at that.

"And why do I have to let you?" Flandre asked. She didn't like the idea of someone messing with her head. The eye was creepy, and something definitely happened to Cirno. She didn't know what it was. Speak about Cirno, she followed the cat girl out of this room. What were they doing?

"Don't you think it's weird?" The satori asked, snapping her back to the conversation. "How I can't 'read' it, but I can with your friend's. Do you know what it means?"

Flandre didn't know, but she felt like she could understand it.

"You feel like you know, didn't you? It was your subconscious."

They were across each other. She was across the table. It was unsettling. "What are you trying to tell me?"

Satori looked at her, as well as the third eye. "There is something your conscious couldn't reach. I could help. It might be for your own benefit if you cooperate." She flashed a smile. "I will not 'mess with your head' as of how you put it. I am an honest person."

 

* * *

 

Flandre blinked. She was now in a room. It was the same room, but the air smell different. Satori was sitting opposite of her.

"How is it now?" The pinked haired girl asked. The voice almost, almost felt like it came from her own head.

"Fuzzy," Flandre said. "Light. Warm." It was comfortable, like sleeping in her own bed.

Satori nodded, and snapped her fingers.

Blood. It smelt like blood. Flandre glanced around. Nothing was out of the ordinary. Thick iron scent filled the air and made her gag a little. She covered her nose with the back of her hand, but it was inside, the smell of bloodbath inside her. It was that overwhelming. She felt sick.

"One sense," Satori said. "Of course smelling is the strongest sense to memory."

Flandre didn't remember smelling blood in such large quantity. She certainly didn't remember it making her nauseous.

"Don't lie to me now," Satori said. "This is time to confess."

Snap.

Pain. A sharp pain as something pierced her right shoulder. Flandre couldn't help gripping on her shoulder even though she knew it was a phantom pain. Hot, her body felt like it was on fire. Her bones felt like they were breaking. Her muscles twitched. A pain she could not describe.

"Are you okay?" Satori asked. Flandre glanced at her and only saw a hollow shell with no real emotion beneath. Either the pink haired girl actually looked like this, or this was her own imagination. This was her own concept of a person.

Flandre wondered how Cirno would react seeing her in this state. Whatever it was, at least it would be real.

Satori snapped her fingers.

Blood again. Of course, she also tasted blood on her tongue. And again, she felt ill. She swallowed. It didn't help.

Snap.

Screams. Muffled voices. Furniture hitting the floor. Glass shattering. Her heavy breathing. Desperate. Footsteps. She ran. Footsteps, but behind her. Her own scream. A thud. Another. Theirs. The stillness after.

"You've seen this once before."

At last, Satori snapped her fingers one last time, and the last sense flooded her.

Her mansion floor was smeared with blood and littered with the maid bodies.

She felt down. She was on the floor, her frail arms in front of her trying to balance herself. seeing all the blood, she couldn't help but wonder. Maybe some of them, some of them, might be their parents'.

Her sister was thrown to the floor next to her.

Flandre looked into her sister's eyes, and sad eyes looked back. They're gone, the eyes tried to say.

They were lifted up, and the men lifting them up sunk their long fangs into their shoulders.

And, too soon, the men let go of them. The pain from a short drop was nothing compared to the pain after. She saw nothing. She saw nothing but she felt.

The pain was insufferable.

She tasted her own blood from her lip. She felt warm liquid on her palms. She felt wetness on her cheeks. She saw her sister in a similar state.

Then the pain was gone.

Flandre stood up.

She saw them, two vampire raiders. She saw the evidence of destruction on their skin. She saw how she could break their bodies.

She saw, and she fixed her eyes on them. Her instinct was telling her to keep staring. She kept them in her sight. Her palm was itchy. So itchy.

With her new instinct, new eyes, new wings, new hands… Flandre had decided in that split second to squeeze.

 

* * *

 

Flandre opened her eyes. She was in a room, a real one this time. The red eye looked at her. She looked back.

Satori was also looking at her. Flandre couldn't read her emotion. "It should come back."

"Huh?" Flandre asked, still lightheaded.

"Other fragments," Satori said. "It will come. I reconnected your bridge."

Flandre gave her a look. Well, she could understand it somewhat, what the satori said. A bridge connecting her to the memories had disappeared, but it was here now.

But how did it got deleted? What about Remilia locking her in the basement? Letting her out of the room only when she was weak...?

"Slowly," Flandre said. "It will come back."

"Yes, it will." Satori nodded.

Flandre left the room and met Cirno outside. The cat girl led them to a courtyard and showed them a large hole, a hidden path to the reactor.

They entered.


	10. Chapter 10

The secret passage in the courtyard led them to the basement of the palace, or so it seems. It looked like a part of the palace at first, but the more they walked, the more uneven the floor became. The hallway was wider and wider.

Soon, they were walking on a small road surrounded by bright red molten cave wall and the sea of magma.

"If you can be at peace within the wavering flames," Rin sang, running along the stone walkway. "Would you part with everything, even your soul?"

"Pretty sure there is magma and not flame," Flandre said.

Only erupting magma was lighting the area of this dark cave. It was dark. The air felt heavy. Dark, but it was lighting up with power. There was flame here, Rin said, but not anymore. Like how the Ancient City is a former capital, this whole place is a former hell. 'Remains of Blazing Hell'.

"The deepest level!" Cirno shouted.

"You can say that," Rin said. "Actually, the Nuclear Furnace is directly below this. It is the deepest part."

They started to notice vengeful spirits, so Cirno and Flandre had to fight. The spirits didn't attack the cat girl. She smiled at them.

"Please die. I want a body," the kasha said and tapped on the cart. "Or lie here if you know your fate."

"Not mine. I don't die." Cirno killed the spirits with ice shards. She frowned. "Actually, I do, but… It's not the same with humans."

"You respawn, right?" Flandre asked.

Cirno nodded. "We fairies no longer consider dying as… dying. We are one with nature. We can't truly die. And when we do, we don't remember. I would be at the Misty Lake like nothing happened. It's like dreaming, and I keep moving on."

"Didn't expect that to be a conversation," Rin said. "Just kidding though. The furnace is already too hot as it is."

"And why don't make it cooler?" Cirno asked.

"Because…" Rin trailed off. "Because it's not my job. It's hers."

Flandre blasted the enemies with fire. She looked at Cirno fighting. That fairy now fought with more confidence than before, if that was possible. She always surprised her. Flandre thought the fairy's way of fighting was irrational, but it worked after all. She was creative, and a good fighter.

It might have something to do with Satori's weird eye. Flandre looked at her hand. She could try. She held her hand out, and stared intensely at a spirit. She thought she could feel it. She wiggled her hand. There, it felt right. She squeezed her hand.

The spirit exploded. It burst into pieces.

Cirno turned to look at her with wide eyes.

Flandre, too, was shocked. She stared at where the spirit once was, and at her hand again. This was power. This was her ability.

It was scary.

Flandre wouldn't want to imagine using it on living beings. No, not again. She was glad she didn't know about this ability when she had fought Marisa. Flandre shivered. Having this kind of power this whole time without realizing it bothered her.

But she could deal with it now, she hoped. She obviously couldn't.

 

* * *

 

"Okay. Head there." Rin stopped and pointed forward. "You'll see it, and you'll know."

"Utsuho, huh," Cirno said. "That bird who made me fall into the lake!"

"Did she?" Rin smiled. "To be honest, I expect a stronger youkai to come." The cat girl looked at them. "But, here we have…"

"The biggest fairy in town!" Cirno shouted.

"Don't underestimate us," Flandre said.

Here we have two immature kids, Rin thought. But Satori-sama has allowed them here so it should be fine.

"It's almost noon," Rin said. "I would say 'bad timing' but it doesn't matter… we need your help, as fast as possible."

"Of course we'll help!"

"Be warned, that it is almost noon, and-"

"You just said that," Flandre said.

"You don't wanna listen to advise?" Rin scowled. "She shoots sun, I warn you. I…" The cat girl looked down. "I can't even stop her, and I'm her best friend."

Flandre nodded.

"I can't stop her. With words, or with reasons. There is only one way left… Please stop her with your strength."

Rin sighed. She didn't want to do this. She didn't want Utsuho to feel betrayed, but there was no choice. The raven didn't listen to her anymore.

Someone else was in her head. Someone else took her friend away.

 

* * *

 

There was flame. There was flame everywhere. The temperature was high. This place threatened to burn, to melt, to reduce every matter to a single atom. Cirno and Flandre had been underground for a few hours. They had lost a sense of direction. Now, they truly felt lost in the middle of blazing hell.

The area was covered in the sea of flame. There was a woman standing there with black wings. She was not burned by the fire. Her wings outspread and she leaped into the air. The skylight above the furnace was sealed shut by molten rocks.

"Intruders," she said. "Must be burnt to crisp."

She was a hell raven, Utsuho Reiuji. The red eye on her chest was burning red. It stared back at them. The inside was catching fire itself. Dancing, swaying red. It was worse than Satori's eye. If the third eye wanted to read, this eye wanted to burn.

"Wait, wait wait!" Cirno shouted. "Peace. Peace!"

"Peace." Utsuho frowned. "You hurt Orin. Little pests!"

The cannon on her right arm flashed and she shot her first spell. It first looked like a big bullet was shot at them, but they actually were made by smaller ones. Orbs of light shot out of her like a three-dimensional grid.

Flandre was alarmed and thicken her red mist, but then she realized it was a plasma orb, not a sun.

The vampire grinned. "All show. It's just fake."

Cirno dodged it and saw the lines of orange circles. The danmaku has obvious gaps. Nothing harmful. It was the first spell card after all. This bird might make earthquakes, but she was fair.

Or maybe it was her way of warming up her cannon.

Light flashed and big orbs came out. They didn't hold much energy so they got smaller the further it was from the hell raven.

The third spell was awfully similar to Flandre's. Flandre brought out her Laevatein and swing it, countering it with her spell, canceling the bullets out.

"You're the one that made earthquake right?" Flandre asked.

"No? I was gathering the energy," Utsuho said. "I didn't hurt anybody."

"That makes the earthquake!" Cirno shouted.

They keep dodging a lot of sun-like orbs. They might be fast, but they shrank quick enough not to be so hard to dodge. After that was a trapping cage of heat orbs. Cirno didn't like it.

"So, why do you gather energy, and sealed the skylight shut?" Flandre asked. "Rin told us it was dangerous. And what you are doing is not your duty!"

"I do what I want!" Utsuho shouted and touched her cannon arm. "I burn everything that gets in my way!"

Flandre frowned. She felt bad that she once had that kind of thought.

"Even Orin… She supports you… What about me? Who is on my side?" Utsuho shot orbs and bullets. They were exactly the same but they worked together now. "I was weak, not anymore. I was trapped, not anymore. The day this place finally explode by my power, I will be free!"

"You wouldn't understand," Flandre said. "Having power… isn't so nice. One day, you will wish to lose your power, to be normal again."

"Not happening." Utsuho floated to the middle of the furnace. She sent two little orbs to two directions. They were high up and low. They connected in a circle and exploded into donut rings made by rows of orbs. A torus.

Flandre dropped on the ground. Her itchy skin felt worse and worse. "Heh… Maybe it wasn't fake…"

"Flandre!" Cirno gilded landed next to her. "There's smoke coming out!"

"Oh." The vampire noticed it. Her skin was burning, turning to ashes.

Her weak human body was enhanced by magic, but everything has its weakness. The sun reset the magic and her reserved human body decomposed, like how a corpse should be. That kasha catgirl would be happy.

"You can freeze me."


	11. Chapter 11

"What?" Cirno asked.

"Freeze me together with the red mist. It will stop the burning," Flandre said. "Then you can fight."

Cirno raised her hand in front of her. She hesitated, then shook her head. "I… can't. I can't freeze any more living things, not my friends. If you stay in there too long, you can die!"

Flandre slowly nodded. She could understand that.

Utsuho grew impatient and shot big orbs at them.

The rock exploded and melted. The partner was not in sight. Where did they go? Utsuho shot more bullets in rapid fire. It rumbled. Some rocks were cracked and some were melted. This was what caused the earthquake.

Cirno was being carried and dragged by Flandre, who was flying at a high speed, leaving trails of smoke.

"I might actually die in this danmaku fight," the vampire said and chuckled. It wasn't even a danmaku fight anymore. She could feel it. The hatred. The pride. The hell raven's bloodlust. Her grip on Cirno loosened. "It was fun."

"No!" Cirno shouted.

"God whispered in my ear." Utsuho growled. "And you tell me I should not be happy with it?!"

The hell raven pointed her arm cannon at them. She was creating a star. A Sun.

And then, everything stopped.

The time had frozen.

 

* * *

 

Flandre was floating in midair as if lying on an invisible bed. Her surrounding lost its color and now dyed in silver grey.

Everything had stopped. Even the half-formed sun in front of her couldn't harm her. Even the noises. The shadow of the wavering flames. Cirno's hand reaching for her.

Either it was fate or loyalty, it didn't matter. Flandre could only thank whatever it was.

Flandre could remember.

She remembered how she had asked Remilia for somewhere alone. Somewhere safe. Somewhere everything else would be safe, away from her hands.

She remembered how things around her had broken. How she got angry. Frustrated. Lost. No matter how much damage she had done to everything and herself, it was no use. Magic. Magic. She was left standing and her power was never away, always laying under her hands.

Everything had changed in a day. Her power. Her identity. Herself.

Flandre couldn't remember how long she had stayed in the basement. Until her own sister gave her a bottle of blood. Blood from her own species. At least, what she once was.

And she screamed.

It might be better to not remember. It might be better to not know. Everything would be better. It would.

She had hidden it, and she had run.

She didn't trust herself.

Her power had gone away, and now it was back. She could handle it this time. No one else could.

She had many regrets. How she had lashed out on Remilia for locking her up. She could now remember the hurt and confusion in her eyes. How she treated the fairy maids. How prideful she was. How self-centered. Her strong wish to be free. Remilia helping her in the background. The red mist she had granted her. This silver time. Remilia had been respecting her wish all along, but her younger self was too idiotic to see.

Tear welled up in her eyes. She brushed it off.

Flandre was scared when she tried her power on the evil spirit. She was still scared. What if she had the power without being here in the first place? What kind of terrible things she could have done with her immaturity?

Flandre floated and shielded Cirno with her body. She gathered the eyes in the half-formed sun. With a crush, the sun would burst, releasing waves of energy that Flandre wasn't sure if she could handle it with her half ashed body.

With all the wrongness she had done, maybe she wanted to make at least make a thing right.

She squeezed her hand, and time continued.

 

* * *

 

Cirno saw a familiar figure in front of her, and bright light. A Sun. The ice fairy's weakness. The heat was making her weaker. It was harder and harder to make ice. She felt sleepy.

But Flandre was in front of her somehow, protecting her. Cirno's instinct was telling her that her partner wouldn't survive.

Flandre was dying, and Cirno wouldn't allow that to happen.

Who the enemy was didn't matter. How powerful they were didn't matter. The fact that she was but a fairy didn't matter. How could she be the strongest if she couldn't save a friend?

Daiyousei. Cirno missed her. Cirno missed the Misty Lake.

The ice fairy made a blizzard.

 

* * *

 

Flandre squinted as strong wind threaten to blow snow into her eyes. She thought of back at the bridge, where the fire burned, and it was frozen. Where red has turned to white, and smoke has turned to steam.

Flandre smiled. Cirno saved her again.

"What?!" The hell raven growled. She checked her cannon and wiped snow off of it. "Aghh don't get in my way!"

Flandre tried to move and felt heavy. Cold. "It's… hard to move…" She looked down on her body.

"Woah! Flandre, looks like a big snowball was thrown at you!" Cirno grinned.

The vampire tried to brush the ice flakes away, but it kept growing bigger. Soon it covered her body, leaving only her joints and face.

"Cool," Flandre said. Her body has stopped burning. The red mist was mixed in ice and coated her in pale red color. "Just don't freeze me like a frog, or that bridgekeeper."

"I'm trying not to!" The ice fairy said. "I'm the strongest, remember?"

The furnace shook. They turned to look at the hell raven.

"You interfere with my last spell…" Utsuho flew up to the middle. Her body lit up like a lamplight, then it started to look like a campfire. Her red eye on her chest was glowing and stared at them. "I don't care about rules anymore. You'll burn with just a touch from Yatagarasu!"

A big sphere appeared. Utsuho curled her hand into a fist in a deliberate motion. Danmakus and rocks were pulled closer to the center.

Flandre pulled Cirno away from the sun.

"I shouldn't have called her fake," the vampire said. "She makes stars."

"Real stars," Cirno said.

Flandre looked at her skin, coated with ice. "You know, I'm going numb."

"Uhh, is the ice melting? You don't like water right?"

"No, idiot. You said it yourself your ice doesn't melt if you don't want it to." Flandre shivered. "... It's just a little too cold."

"Okay," Cirno lifted the temperature a bit. Less cold, but still ice.

"Doesn't help much but thanks." Flandre grabbed Cirno's left hand "You ready for a flight?"

"Of course!... Don't rip my arm off please."

Flandre flung Cirno to the left of the sun. Cirno flew in a curve with the help of momentum.

Utsuho's power might be so stunning, but she was stupid. That is her weakness.

And luckily, both of the partner's greatest spell was useful on an unmoving target.

Cirno raised both of her hand. A blue ball appeared in front of her palm. It grew bigger and bigger. She grinned, excited for using this spell for the first time. Be proud, Marisa.

"Love Colored, Master Spark, Strongest Edition!"

Flandre also held her hand out, gathering the eyes of atoms in the sun, the eyes of chain reactions. "This is gonna be sick…"

With a smirk, she squeezed both of her hands.

The sun got covered by a large ray of coldness, and it got looser and getting unstable.

A warm wave of wind brushed their faces as the sun disappeared.

 

* * *

 

Utsuho looked at the disappearing sun. She wished it could burn longer, but the energy was leaving her body. Her plan failed. She failed her.

_What have I done wrong?_

The raven asked to the emptiness. She wants fame. She wants power. She wants me to be strong. I do everything for her.

Utsuho looked at her cannon arm and felt something in her chest. Guilt. Shame.

I was stupid.

A voice was nearby. Footsteps came closer.

"Okuu!" Rin sprinted to her and jumped, hugging her tight.

It was strong, Utsuho thought. She was there the entire time. I don't deserve it, do I?

"I was... so, so worried!" The cat girl hugged tighter. "Don't leave me again alright? We all miss you!"

Rin sobbed into her chest, her chest with the red eye of a god. Rin didn't mind it. Utsuho was glad she didn't mind her.

What the god wanted could wait for now. Whatever it was, Utsuho was not going to do something like this again.

Destroying was fun. Not having to control her power was fun, but…

Utsuho hugged Rin back.

There was so much more. There were Rin and Satori. There were her friends who helped maintain the mansion and the reactor. There was the mansion they slept inside together. There were the other youkai's that were her friends. Above and here.

And even with all that, she still wished for more. Stupid me.

Does power make you stronger? Does freedom only gain with force?

Utsuho raised her right arm and removed the cannon.

"Eh, what are you doing?" Rin asked.

"I can put this thing later when I need it," Utsuho said. "Now, I don't. It gets in the way of us."

She was so blind. She was stupid. Power was blinding her, made her forget such simple things, like happiness. It was simple, and it was here.

"I've lost," Utsuho said.


	12. Chapter 12

"Without the other things that happened before, she wouldn't have won. It's the same with the ice fairy." Remilia said, watching the moon from her room.

"What a subtle twist of fate," Sakuya said from behind her.

"What a subtle manipulation of time that sent the ice fairy right there," Remilia said.

"It was all because of fate," Sakuya said.

"Tsk." Remilia sipped her drinks. "It doesn't matter, right?"

"No, it doesn't." The maid smiled. "The party is starting soon."

 

* * *

 

"I'm the strongest!" Cirno shouted and jumped around. "I'm stronger than the sun. Yes! There's no way I can lose! I'm the strongest, most invincible fairy of all!"

Daiyousei clapped her hands. "You're amazing, Cirno!"

Aya jotted down the details. Utsuho sighed and the cat girl hugged her. Those gods apologized for all the trouble.

The party happened at the Moriya Shrine. It was on top of the mountain, so it was a nice place to watch the snow. Winter had arrived. Snow piled on the floor. Some youkai played with snow outside of the shrine. Cirno may or may not have added more ice to the yard.

After telling her tale, Cirno went to the little group of Scarlet Devil Mansion residents. Cirno picked the teacup on the table and tasted it. "Nice!"

"Told you Sakuya's tea is the best," Flandre said and sipped her own drink.

The older youkai drank sake while the partner drank tea. Both agreed that sake was not for them.

Cirno made an ice cube appeared in the air. Flandre squeezed her hand and it cracked. Small ice shards dropped down on the table.

"You perfected it," Cirno said.

"I sure did." Flandre grinned with confident. "It took a lot of time and effort-"

"On my part," Patchouli said. She was the one who made the magic barrier for Flandre to test her power and not destroying the mansion along the way.

"Well, now I'm in control," Flandre said. "One day, I'll prove that I'm not dangerous."

"The mansion is a start," Sakuya said. "She no longer frightens the fairy maids or destroys plates."

"Sakuya." Flandre growled.

Sakuya and Patchouli finally left them alone and went to the other group.

Cirno laughed. "Hey, that's cool. You're a master of destroying now."

Flandre huffed. "What about you? Frog God get off your throat yet?"

"I don't kill them anymore," Cirno said. "Still freeze them though."

Flandre gave her a look, as well as Suwako.

"Just once in a while!" Cirno added. "And I might get a job."

"Aren't you a shaved ice seller?"

"Yes. The bamboo doc told me she wanted my ice. Like, a box filled with ice that doesn't melt."

"Oh."

"If people at the village want them too, I would be rich!"

"Remilia might even want that," Flandre said. "Good luck on your new job."

"Good luck to you too," Cirno said. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

Cirno lowered her voice. "Why did you... do that? As a child, you know..."

Flandre knew what she meant. It was a brave, and stupid, choice one could make. The ice fairy tried to protect her memory while she tried to hide it away.

"I might be thinking," Flandre said. "'Hey, I don't need to have such power if it ruins everything, so...' I think that did it."

They continued drinking tea. Younger youkai's came drink with them as well.

"Hey Flandre," Cirno said.

Flandre looked at her. "Yeah?"

"Do you think I'm strong?"

"Huh." She raised her eyebrows. "Having self-doubt? After conquering the Underworld and you ask that?"

Cirno frowned. "It's just that, I wonder if I'm just tricking myself, you know. I know I'm strong, but, am I?"

Flandre flicked the ice fairy's forehead.

"Ow."

"You deserve that," Flandre said. "Remember what you said? What are you good at?"

"Freezing things," Cirno said.

"Is there anyone, anyone at all, who is better than you at that?"

"No."

"Is there anyone who's more Cirno than you?"

"Hehh."

"Then of course you are the strongest," Flandre said. "There are so many things you have frozen."

"I freeze frogs."

"And diseases," Flandre said. "And jealousy. And flame. And my anger. My pride. And the last one is?"

"The Sun," Cirno said.

"And your self-doubt," Flandre said. "That's how you made that blizzard back in the furnace. That's how you saved my life."

"Right. Simple enough." Cirno smiled. "I'm strong."

Flandre was glad she had known Cirno. So many things in her life were stopped, frozen, by her hands. It all changed after she had met this ice fairy. Everything moved and was into motion again, for the better. Some things were frozen so that something else could be free. A perfect amount of coldness was what Cirno was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, I finished a multi-chapter story! This is all for Flandre and Cirno folks out there.
> 
> Thank you for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> [I'm here on tumblr!](https://tsukireicc.tumblr.com/)


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